Bottle of Soul
by DeathThePanda
Summary: Byakuran was a wealthy photographer, but he had a rather odd hobby of stealing his models souls, and keeping them as mindless pets. Tsuna threatened to change all of that on a mission to find his boyfriend. Rated T for a small bit of gore, and Tsuna being an underwear model. Fixed the chunk of words, and divided them up into paragraphs.


(A/N: I've been working on this story ever since I first saw Byakuran in the anime. Which was about a year ago, but whatever. I'm actually rather proud of this, it has an actual plot! This is an one shot, but it's kind of long, and I think it resolves everything, so I'm not writing a sequel or anything like that. A review would be appreciated. I'll be just devastated if nobody likes this as much as I do, but please, point out any mistakes you see.)

"Ah, Shou-chan. Your soul is so pretty." The tall spiky haired male murmured, stroking the clear glass object holding the light emerald orb of light. "Thank you, Byakuran-sama." Said redhead responded, his words in a monotone.

Byakuran set the soul back on the shelf with the others. "I bet Tsuna's would be much better though." He mused. "His would be a brilliant orange, like a sunset. Don't you think so, Shou-chan?"

"Yes, Byakuran-sama."

"After I get Tsuna, then Shou-chan will be disposable like all the others." The elder's lips curved up in a smile at the prospect of a new pet.

"Yes, Byakuran-sama." Byakuran turned back to look at the souls. They were each gorgeous in their own way. Like that Hibari's. It was a violet color, not unlike Byakuran's own irises, and it looked like the orb had spikes on it. Belphegor's was beautiful in a macabre sense. It was like a liquid orb of blood, constantly pulsing. The bodies of the boys were also special. He didn't always keep the bodies, but if they were especially pretty, then he would put them in the back room. There was a cabinet, like one would find in a morgue, with drawers that held bodies. Each body got their own drawer, and they laid their, staring at nothing until Byakuran would grace them with his presence. Sometimes, he let them out. That was mostly when he wanted a hole dug for a body, and he didn't feel like bothering to do it himself. He, after all, had more important things to do than such menial labor.

Now, he didn't always keep the bodies in the back. Some, he buried outside under the beautiful purple Dahlias. He could, after all, only keep twenty or so bodies in the back room. Some, not all, of his soulless beauties became his assistants for a bit. Then somebody prettier would come along, and they would be replaced. Before Shouichi he had Daisy, and before Daisy, he had Gamma, and before them, well, he didn't remember that far back. "Does Shou-chan want to help me photograph the boy? You'll get to see how lovely he is. His eyes are so full of life and happiness. I can't wait to take his soul~"

"Don't look so tense, Tsu-kun! Just relax!" Byakuran chirped, moving the bulky camera away from his face to see the cinnamon haired male.

Tsuna's cheeks flushed. "It's j-just that I've n-never done an underwear m-modeling job before, Byakuran-san."

"No, no. It's just Byakuran, Tsu-kun. Besides, we're both men. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Just be glad that I'm only taking pictures of your lower half, or we would have to wait for that cute blush of yours to go away." Byakuran snapped another picture, this time of the younger's face.

Sadly though, Tsuna's eyes were closed. Or maybe it was for the better as he could spend more time with a soulful Tsuna. "Shouichi? Can you get Tsu-kun a glass of cold water? I think he needs a break." Truth be told, Byakuran had only taken a couple of shots. He would do anything to prolong this shoot though.

"Of course, Byakuran-sama." Shouichi's glasses gleamed in the darkness beyond the bright lights, as he turned to leave the studio room.

"You don't have to do that..." Tsuna's sentence trailed off as the door closed, leaving only him and the white haired photographer, and for some reason he felt slightly unnerved.

"Nonsense, Tsu-kun! Shouichi doesn't mind." Shouichi never minded anything.

"Thank you, Byakuran."

"You're welcome, Tsu-kun. Let's go sit down." Byakuran turned off the bright lights used to make sure his models had appropriate lighting, and walked out of the room to a lounge area, Tsuna trailing behind him, his bare feet enjoying the feel of the plush carpet.

"Ah. Byakuran? C-can I have my clothes?" Byakuran sat down on a cream colored armchair, and stared up at the still standing Tsuna, blinking owlishly.

"Why?"

"Never mind." Tsuna quietly said, sitting down in the chair opposite the other, feeling extremely self conscious, being in only a pair of boxers, while Byakuran was fully clothed in white.

"Here is your water."

Tsuna jumped as the redheaded assistant handed him a glass of water. He hadn't even heard him come in. "Ah thank you. Shouichi?" He said what he assumed to be the other's name, and looked up at him. His eyes. They were disturbing. The dark green eyes seemed so... Lifeless.

Shouichi didn't deny it.

"So, Tsu-kun, what made you want to become a model?" Byakuran tuned out his long rambling answer, and just started at his lips. Those luscious pink lips. Opening and closing. "Interesting." He interrupted. Now he wanted nothing more than to take it. "Let's go get some more shots." He stood up, and strode out of the room back to the studio. Tsuna stood up, placed his glass on a coaster on the glass table, and gave one last look to the emotionless guy before jogging after Byakuran.

"W-wait up!"

"Hurry up, Tsu-kun." He couldn't bear it anymore. He wanted his body and soul. Now. "Pose~"

"O-okay."

Byakuran waited until he was sure the other wouldn't blink, and snapped a photo. The other's dark brown eyes widened, his pupils growing larger, as his soul escaped his slack jawed mouth, leaving only a body. His eyes glazed over, and his body relaxed from its stiff state. "Oh. How cute." Byakuran breathlessly gasped, staring at the glowing orange ball that looked like a miniature sun. "Shouichi! Get me a bottle!" His lavender eyes stared at it, transfixed with this soul. Was it possible for a soul to be this adorable?

"Here you go, Byakuran-sama."

Without another word, Byakuran scooped up the soul, and carefully slid it into the bottle. "Thanks, Shou-chan." Tsuna stood still, staring at the wall. "You're no longer needed, Shou-chan. Tsu-kun? Go sit down in the lounge room, 'kay?" With a mechanical nod, his new toy, left the room. "Come on. Are you ready to die?"

"Of course, Byakuran-sama. Whatever you wish."

"I feel bad about you dying though. You've been my favorite by far." Byakuran paused. "Maybe we can put off your death for a bit. I think I've become quite attached to you, Shou-chan."

"Thank you, Byakuran-sama."

"Although, you're getting kind of boring. Plus, Tsuna's soul is much prettier than yours."

"I'm sorry, Byaku-"

"Ah. I'll miss you, Shou-chan." Byakuran interrupted. It would be rather hard keeping two pets. One was enough. "Come along, Shou-chan. We'll make this quick." Or not. Byakuran wouldn't deny that he could be sadistic at times. He walked into the back room where he kept the empty jars and a steel table like one would find in a morgue. "Lay down for me." Shouichi obediently followed his master's instructions. His dull eyes followed Byakuran as he snipped a white Rose off of one of the many plants in the room. "Isn't it a lovely flower, Shou-chan? He twirled it around. "It's funny how you can't feel pain, but you act like you're hurt. So if I were to do this," Abruptly, he slammed the scissors into Shouichi's arm, "You wouldn't feel a thing. Almost like your body is already dead. Like a zombie."

"Ow."

That one word sounded so funny coming out of the redhead that Byakuran had to laugh. "Oh, Shou-chan. I'm not even sure how you can actually die. All the others died though." He was never this violent with the others though. He dipped his fingers into the wound, after pulling the green handled scissors out, and tossing them on the floor. His tongue flicked out to daintily lick at the blood on his fingers. "I'm going to paint this rose red. I think a red rose symbolizes our love better, don't you?" Maybe he would buy some roses to plant on Shouichi's grave. The back room was all filled up, and he had kept Shouichi longer than he had kept any of his other boys. It was time to return him to the Earth.

"Yes, Bya-" The soulless man stopped talking when the white haired one picked the scissors up, and ran his tongue along the blood. "Oh, Shou-chan. Your blood is delicious. Where should I stab you next?" His smile remained present as he asked.

"Where ever you want to." Shouichi answered. It wasn't like he could feel the stabbing.

"How about here?" Byakuran poked his neck, and slowly slid the scissors across Shouichi's Adams apple. "I bet a lot of blood would gush out. Right, Sh- Ah. Wait. I forgot to put Tsu-kun's soul with the others. Be right back!"

His pace almost at a run, he hurried down the hallway. Didn't want Sho-chan to bleed out while he wasn't watching. It was his favorite part of killing his slaves- pets. To watch what little life they had left in their eyes fade out. Once he buried them, all that he had left to remember them by was their soul.

That was funny. The soul had been on the table, but now the sleek black modern top was empty. A tinkling noise like dozens of bottles breaking made his ears prick up. No. It couldn't be. "Really, Tsu-kun? We were going to be so happy together, I was even going to get rid of Sho-chan just for you." He called as he entered the hallway, his smile widening, but his eyes growing harder.

Suddenly dozens of souls went sailing past him, heading towards their owners. Byakuran laughed at Tsuna's stupidity. "Tsu-kun? They won't be able to leave their cabinets." He opened the door to the room where he kept- had kept the bottles. "Were you expecting for them to help you?"

Tsuna stood in the middle of the room, looking lost, the black shelves lying on the floor, glass all around him. Ten or so souls swirled back into the room, having been unable to return to their dead bodies. They instinctively hovered near Tsuna, as if he would protect them. As if. Tsuna wouldn't even be able to protect himself. Tsuna took a couple of steps forward, the glass crunching under his bare feet, making them bleed. "I'm looking for a friend." Another couple of steps. More blood, gushing out of his feet.

"Oh?" Byakuran tilted his head to the right, an action which would have seemed submissive had anybody but him done it. "So you think the appropriate way of getting him back is to come into my studio, and wreck my collection?" Byakuran began to advance on Tsuna, until they were mere inches away from each other. With each and every step Byakuran took, Tsuna paled, until he was as white as a ghost. "Hmm, Tsu-kun?"

"I-I..."

"I-I?" Byakuran echoed, mockingly. He brought his hand up to caress Tsuna's cheek. "You what?" The elder leaned over, until his forehead rested on the younger's. Tsuna gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing at the close proximity of Byakuran.

"I need him though." He whispered, his eyes large and doe-like.

"Ah, so it's not just a friend you're looking for. Let me guess, he's your lover, and you just simply can't survive without him." Byakuran sighed dramatically, and clutched at his chest.

Tsuna flinched as the cloyingly sweet smell of Byakuran's breath fanned his face, along with a faint hint of something metallic. "Look, I just want my boyfriend back."

Byakuran was surprised at how steady Tsuna was able to keep his voice. "Oh? Well, what if he's dead? Lying buried in my garden. What would you do then?" He asked, tauntingly.

"Then, I would kill you." Tsuna said, and Byakuran decided he rather liked the hard edge in his voice. He loved a challenge.

"And how do expect to kill me when you're in only your boxers?" Byakuran asked, taking a step back from Tsuna.

"I won't need to kill you if he's alive." There was about a two in three chance that Tsuna's love was still alive. He had killed around ten, and there were about twenty in the cabinets. Sometimes, if he was feeling nostalgic, he might pull them out from their cabinets, and admire their beauty. After all, Byakuran wouldn't keep anybody who was unattractive.

"What was your beloved's name?"

Tsuna's brown eyes widened in hope, before narrowing. "So you're just going to help me out? After I 'wrecked your little collection'?"

"Depends. What will you give me for letting him go free, or would you rather I just kill you?"

"Is he alive?" Tsuna swallowed hard.

"What was his name?"

"Gokudera Hayato." Tsuna quietly said.

Ah. Byakuran remembered him well. He had been very hot tempered, which was what drew Byakuran to him at first, but after his soul was taken, he had become uninteresting. If only he could remember where he had put the body. "Italian, wasn't he?"

Tsuna nodded, a shiver running through his body. He was so close.

"He might still be in the back. If I recall correctly, he was rather lovely, wasn't he?"

"He was beautiful." Tsuna croaked out, his vision blurring with tears. So close. All those months he had spent looking for him, all those fruitless leads. He was almost giddy with excitement.

"Let's go look, shall we?" Byakuran offered his hand to the younger, and Tsuna blindly took it. "Now, if I let him go free, what will you give me?" Byakuran asked once they got to the door to the back room.

"I-I don't know... I don't have much money. If I save up-"

Byakuran silenced Tsuna with a finger on his lips. "Do you really think I need money?" He spread his arms out, and gestured to the expensive art work hanging on the wall, and the modern furniture which littered the place. "No, I don't need money. What I do need though, is companionship."

Tsuna stared at him. "You-"

"And if you just stay with me, I'll let all of the others in the cabinet out, as well as your dearly beloved."

Tsuna bit his lip, and looked at the door. "You aren't going to take my soul out again, are you?"

Byakuran chuckled darkly. "Only if I need to. Though you did manage to have your wits enough about you so as to break all of my bottles. You must have a strong will."

"Can I just see Hayato?"

"Of course." As soon as Byakuran opened the door, the scent of blood wafted out, making Tsuna take a step back. It smelled exactly like what Byakuran's breath had smelled like. There was also a banging noise coming from the metal cabinets which covered up the far wall. The room must've been sound proof as Tsuna hadn't heard them before he went into the room. His Hayato was in one of those cabinets. Could he breathe in there? Or was he slowly suffocating?

Byakuran frowned at the empty table. Shouichi was gone. "Shou-chan must think he's so smart. Shou-chan must think he's going to be able to sneak up on me, and kill me. Tsu-kun, would you grab a dozen bottles from that cabinet to your right, and go shove the souls in the lounge into them, while I search for your love?" Tsuna hesitated. "Hurry up, and do as I asked, or I might just accidentally kill him."

Tsuna glanced at the blood on the table, before doing as Byakuran asked. Byakuran tried to remember where Tsuna's little boyfriend was. He picked up a knife from the counter, and held it as he opened one of the drawers. A decidedly not Italian boy tried to escape, but Byakuran shoved it closed, the male's fingers getting crushed in the process. Byakuran let a soft giggle escape upon hearing the boy's bones break with the forehead with which he shut it. As Byakuran tried to remember where Tsuna's 'friend' was, the door opened again, and the white haired male turned around to ask Tsuna what his Gokudera looked like, but was surprised to see Shouichi in the doorway.

"I was just about to go looking for you."

In the dark room, Shouichi's glasses caught the light from the hallway, making them look as if they were glowing, like a cat's, which perturbed Byakuran slightly. His soul was back in him. Something glinted in his hands, and Shouichi flicked on the light. "Say cheese, Byakuran-sama." Shouichi mockingly said the last part, a twisted smile on his face, as he held the camera in one hand, and his other hand clenched at his bloody shoulder.

Byakuran barely had time to snicker at the irony of the whole situation before a bright light filled the room, and his eyes went blank, as his soul escaped him.

(A/N: Facepalm. It was going good, in my opinion, until the end, and I think it just kind of ruined the while thing. I couldn't decide how I wanted this to end, so I chose the 'happy' ending, instead of something like Gokudera being dead, and Byakuran taking Tsuna's soul again. The ending is also sort of open to interpretation. EDIT: So Fanfiction totally messed up my formatting, and made the whole thing one long paragraph. I think I fixed it... I had to go into the document, and space out the chunk of writing. I'm really sorry to anybody who read this before I fixed it as it was practically impossible to read.)


End file.
